WeekapaugGroove wrote:nevetsov wrote:There was a time Tyson was injured, and Len was starting in his place and playing really well. I'm talking efficient double doubles, for about half a dozen games.
When Tyson came back he automatically got the starting spot back, and Len went back to an inconsistent bench role. I never understood that move - if your young guy is playing well in a starting role then you don't push him out for a mediocre vet that was giving you less.
With that idiotic contract they gave Chandler they probably felt he needed to start. I felt from the day they signed Chandler it was terrible for Len, he was a guy who needed confidence and signing Chandler to a 4 year deal that guaranteed he was going to be blocked for playing time was the last thing he needed for his development.
Now with that said Len was/is never got to be more than a fringe starter because if his lack of natural feel for the game. He always looked like a dude who learned to play basketball by reading a book.
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This is the exact same reason for some of the moves this summer. When you overload a position, you block players you really need to develop or force players to play out of position.
Last year, we had TJ, JJ, Oubre, and Bridges at sf. Our solution to that problem was to play TJ and Oubre at pf much of the time. What we really needed was a real pf and to thin the herd at sf. They looked at the four and kept Oubre and Bridges. I think that was probably the right choice. Yes, TJ was productive and maybe JJ would get smarter, but sometimes you have to just commit to a player. Now Oubre and Bridges can fight over who starts. I think it will be Oubre, with Bridges coming off the bench both at SF and SG.
The Suns are all-in on their starters at this point. Rubio, Booker, Oubre, Saric, Ayton. I even think they are all-in on their sixth man in Bridges. I am not sure how successful that team will be, but at least we are going into the year with a sense of stability.
Please pardon the cock-eyed homerism for a moment. But if we compare this team to the previous summer roster (pre-Ariza) these are the moves we made.
Pg: Rubio for Melton, Carter for Canaan.
Sg: TJohnson for Daniels.
Sf: Oubre for Warren, Cam Johnson for Jackson
Pf: Saric for Ariza, Kaminsky for Bender
C: Baynes for Holmes, Diallo for Ryan Anderson
This is the net result. In addition we gave up the Bucks pick and a second-rounder. If all of these were the actual trades, it does not look horrible.
